Allegaeon – The Ossuary Lens

By the time I discovered  Allegaeon they were already on their fourth album, ‘Proponent for Sentience’. I was so impressed by it that I took the rare move of buying all their back catalogue. I have followed them from that point on and although I don’t necessarily like every track they produce, I do like the majority. This is enough to keep me interested and there have been some outstanding tracks since. ‘Concerto in DM’ and the cover of the Yes song ‘Roundabout’ instantly spring to mind, but there are many more.

This incredible group from Fort Collins, Colorado now present their new album “The Ossuary Lens”. It marks a new era for the band as original vocalist Ezra Haynes who left in 2015, rejoined in 2022. So, this is the first full-length release with him back in the band. You never have to wait too long for the next Allegaeon album, and this one makes seven in seventeen years.

“The Ossuary Lens” is not a concept album, but each track has a different perspective on death. The album title itself relates to an aspect of that subject. An ossuary is a chamber or sometimes a small chest where bones of the dead were placed after the flesh had decayed. Primarily this was to save space in cemeteries and there are many around the world that are open to the public. You might think this is a bit grim, but the genre here is technical death metal after all.

Long standing guitarists Michael Stancel and Greg Burgess are among the best in the business. The latter is proficient in Spanish guitar techniques and that element is employed for the opening instrumental track ‘Refraction.’  It’s only one minute long but this lively slice of flamenco serves as the lead into an even livelier onslaught of shredding. The style in ‘Chaos Theory’ is instantly recognisable as Allegaeon for me. Heavy thrash mixed with passages of tuneful, rhythmic riffing and exquisite little melodic lead breaks.

The first single released ahead of the album was ‘Driftwood’, a song that encompasses every aspect of the band’s qualities. The main ingredients being harsh and clean vocals, complex riffs that tumble over each other changing constantly, and precise solos. The video has a storyline running through it with clips of the band performing the track, and a catchy chorus.

If you wanted to evoke the last judgement musically, then a suitably dramatic intro would be required. This is duly dispensed perfectly in ‘Dies Irae’ which is Latin for Day of Wrath. This majestic start is indeed followed up by wrathful deliverance making it one the more ferocious numbers on the album. The ferocity is perhaps only surpassed subsequently by the thrashy nature of ‘The Swarm’. I’m afraid if I had to pick my least favourite track on the album, this would be it. Something had to be I guess, and ironically this is the song that the band chose for their second single.

As we move into the second half of the album, most of the shorter tracks are behind us. An odd little section at the beginning of ‘Carried by Delusion’ sees acoustic guitar do battle with full blown death metal. It resembles someone switching radio channels back and forth, Spanish guitar – metal – Spanish guitar – metal. Of course, the metal wins out with the twin guitars weaving their magic. The acoustic guitar makes another brief appearance later in the song.

Not to be out done, the acoustic element is strengthened by bringing in an extra recruit for ‘Dark Matter Dynamics’. This reinforcement is supplied by international performing and recording artist Adrian Bellue. Not to be confused with former King Crimson frontman Adrain Belew, the Adrian in question here is renowned for his unique style of playing. This multifaceted track combines incredible acoustic guitar sections with powerful infectious rhythms and guitar licks running through the fabric of the whole thing. This diverse mixture makes it stand out and it quickly became my favourite track on the album.

Photo Credit – Stephanie Cabra

There’s another short piece of Flamenco courtesy of Mr Burgess at the start of ‘Imperial’. The rest of the song is fast paced with complex drumming from Jeff Saltzman backed by solid bass playing from Brandon Michael. Following this slice of rapid-fire mayhem, the tempo in the mini epic ‘Wake Circling Above’ is much more varied. Ezra mixes his vocals using the full range at his disposal from cleans to screams. Although there are thrashy sections across the seven minutes the overriding style is grandiose and maestoso.

The Ossuary Lens was recorded with producer Dave Otero at Flatline Audio studio in Denver, CO. It marks the sixth album recorded with him, and the band say they can’t imagine working with anyone else. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The parting shot, for now, has the last viewpoint of death with the title of ‘Scythe’ which has an obvious meaning. The song is not as grim as the bearer of the implement in its name, at least not to begin with.

Vocalist Haynes considers this to be the best Allegaeon album to date. This of course is subjective according to the listener, but I definitely think it is among their best. There’s certainly a few of those outstanding tracks I alluded to earlier. Like all the best albums it gets better with every play because there is so much going on. If, and I hope this is the case, an eighth album is planned then bring it on I say.

Track-list:

1. Refraction
2. Chaos Theory
3. Driftwood
4. Dries Irae
5. The Swarm
6. Carried by Delusion
7. Dark Matter Dynamics
8. Imperial
9. Wake Circling Above
10. Scythe